Season 6 of “Orange Is the New Black” features multiple Colorado natives

We talk to Mike Houston and Hunter Emery about their roles

“Orange Is the New Black,” Netflix’s Emmy-winning TV series and its most-binge-watched show, debuted its sixth season on July 27.

That instantly made it the streaming provider’s longest-running original show, but it also highlighted how much the women’s-prison dramedy has changed over time, with multiple cast and plot infusions that have kept it robust amid other prestige-TV challengers.

Some of that new blood comes from Colorado.

We caught up with Denver native Mike Houston, who plays correctional officer (CO) Lee Dixon, and Boulder native Hunter Emery, who plays officer Rick Hopper, as they began filming Season 7 in New York City last week to talk about their small but growing roles, how “Orange” has become a modern-day “Law and Order,” and more. (Warning: Mild spoilers ahead.)

Lee Dixon on “Orange is the New Black”)

Q: When did you first join the show?

Houston: For anyone watching the show, Season 3 is when the guards decided to unionize. At that point in (real life), prisons were moving from state systems to private systems, so the show took that and ran with it. I came on in Season 4 as CO Lee Dixon, who was part of the new influx of guards brought in from different backgrounds. For the majority of characters, that was serving in the military in some capacity, so a lot of us come in pretty hot and without a lot of experience. The show took that to the nth degree in terms of abuse of power, abuse of inmates, and other things that happen in real private prisons.

Emery: I joined in Season 5 as CO Rick Hopper, captain of the maximum-security facility at Litchfield Penitentiary.

Q: How did you get the role?

Houston: I first auditioned for the “Orange” character of Piscatella (now played by Brad William Henke, a former Denver Broncos player who graduated from Littleton’s Heritage High School). That was while I was working on another show in New York for Amazon called “Sneaky Pete.” When I went out to L.A. to do reshoots for “Sneaky Pete,” I got a call from my agent saying, “Can you go on tape for ‘Orange Is the New Black?’ ” So I got together with some friends and just put myself on tape for Dixon, came back from shooting “Sneaky Pete,” and within a week, got the call that I was hired for the role. I was over the moon!

Emery: Like any other actor, a (script) breakdown came through and I went into the auditions. I thought I did OK, but nothing spectacular. Then the next day, I got a phone call and literally fell out of bed. My fiancée said, “What the hell happened?” and I said, “I got it! I got it!” Of course, I was terrified. It was a hit TV show that’s got a worldwide audience, so there’s some pressure there to step up my game. But I was also so excited and so grateful. Anytime you’re working for Jenji (Kohan, the show’s creator and showrunner who also created “Weeds” and “GLOW”), you know it’s quality work.

Houston: Lee Dixon is more from the blue-collar side of things. He comes from Memphis, Tennessee, having served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He gets caught up in a prison riot (the event that ended Season 5) and is starting to see how everyone’s got their own personal situation. Then he’s put in a situation where he’s assaulted and it really throws him into a whole PTSD spin, and that’s where we start to see him in Season 6. He’s not a great guy, but I was surprised at some of the reaction he’s getting from fans. There is an empathy that people are having for him turning a small corner in his life. He’s starting to stand up for people — in his own, non-PC way.

Hunter Emery on “Orange is the New Black” (Provided by Netflix)

Q: How has the character changed since you started playing him?

Emery: I’ve been fortunate in that every week they give Rick Hopper a little more to do, and it’s amazing to think I’m gaining the trust of the writers and producers to display more of that. It’s not like when you first get the part it’s all written and decided who this character is. It’s fun having these discoveries along the way, and at this point I really feel like they’re writing this character for me — which is the first time I’ve been on a show where they’re playing to my strengths as an actor and what kind of energy I put out.

Q: I noticed you’ve also acted on “Law and Order,” which is kind of a rite of passage for New York actors. Is there a modern-day equivalent to it?

Houston: It’s funny, because “Orange” has kind of become that in the sense that we’re going into shooting Season 7 with this large ensemble cast that’s always bringing in new characters. I’ve actually had a lot of friends audition for the show or end up on it in some capacity. But “Law and Order” was definitely considered something of a repertory company for TV actors, and there aren’t many shows — maybe “Elementary” or “Blue Bloods” — that have been around long enough to take its place.

Q: “Orange” often balances outrageous humor and dark drama in the same scene. Is that tricky for a new actor to come into?

Emery: When you’re coming onto a show that’s already been established and has been on for four seasons, that’s on me to do my homework. I really have an opportunity to understand the tone of show and also become familiar with Jenji’s other work, which I am. But definitely, when you’re on set you just feel the momentum of the cast and crew, and that helps.

Q: What’s one of your favorite memories from working on the show?

Houston: On my first day, Andrew McCarthy was our director, and he was one of my mom’s favorite actors. She passed away about ten years ago and I was sad that she wasn’t able to experience this high with me. But the fact that my first day on the set of a cool new job was with one of my mom’s favorite actors? That’s when I realized this was like universe-stuff happening.